If you have it, they may come. Vehicle theft is low priority for constabularies. The number of vehicles found has reduced. Of those located, many are not found ‘as was’ but little more than a shell.
- Disable Keyless Entry: Some vehicles allow you to turn off the wireless signal feature, which prevents the doors from unlocking automatically when you approach the car. You can still use the remote, which requires you to press a button – barely a hardship!
- Use a Faraday Case: Wrap your key fob in a Faraday case. Apparently, these prevent the keyless feature (above). So why not undertake ‘1’ or keep keys a good distance from the vehicle and permitter of your home
- Do not leave keys in or about the car: Firstly, you could well negate a claim upon your insurance policy – the thief gets everything, you get nothing. Secondly, and a reason an insurer may not entertain a claim; it is a substantial risk – defeating the object of vehicle security!
- Physical Locking: This will likely prevent casual thieves who wander the streets trying vehicle and house door handles in the hope of one giving to their force but see ‘1’ and ‘2’ above … it is called ‘keyless theft’ for a reason.
- Items of value: If on display, they may be too tempting to resist. Keep the vehicle neat, clear of personal items.
- Fit a steering lock or wheel clamp: Will these (anything) deter the determined? What about some form of cut out (‘kill’) switch?
- Reprogram your keys: Having acquired a car, take it to a dealer and ask them to reprogram your keys. If any other keys exist, these will fit the mechanical locks, but otherwise, not operate the vehicle.
- Park near to your home, behind gates, in a garage – if you have the luxury of such facilities. Oh … and do not tell an insurer your vehicle is garaged overnight if you do not have a one!
- Fit a tracker: Despite all you hear about ‘security bypass’, ‘keyless entry’ and manufacturers are to blame, many vehicles are still taken with keys or uplifted, and manufacturers can only do so much. You obviously want/need to enter and drive your vehicle, so do criminals. They will employ the same process as you if they can – gain whatever device overcomes the security.
Tracking
Consider a tracking product that also provides a recovery facility – otherwise, in furtherance of the police interest, you may have to find and snatch the vehicle back yourself!
Think about the features you want, the alerts required, for example:
- Moving without a key
- Geo-tagging – an alert if the vehicle moves beyond a specified boundary
- Time zones – movement during specific periods, possibly coupled with a boundary alert
- Interference – notifications if the kit is tampered with or the signal is affected
- Errors – alerts if the system returns an ‘odd’ signal i.e. at a location impossibly distant from a previous signal
Also consider:
- Do you require access to the information the device is returning
- Would extra features, such as telematics data be helpful?
Not all tracking devices and companies are created equal.